Natural Selection…

Recently, Bengals have been in the news due to a horrific display of animal cruelty by a well known footballer. He physically harmed one of his two cats and it was caught on camera; at present, the cats are currently in the care of the RSPCA.

This reignited a discussion that has occurred sporadically since the rise in hybrid popularity, which was mostly caused by people viewing them online with celebrities. (Examples of this include Justin Bieber with his Savannah cats, Sushi and Tuna and Kourtney Kardashian with her Bengal, Charli.) What’s being debated is whether or not it is ethical to keep hybrid cats as domestic companions. There’s been a few articles regarding the subject, one of which can be found by following this link:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/17/uk-could-ban-part-wild-hybrid-cats-after-social-media-fuels-boom-in-popularity?fbclid=IwAR3B9ui2Q6z6oVSAUB4prQTQdUBCd3QAvj8V_-3-u3g-BSw7RRjtKoOcz_o

This is a subject I have had considerable concerns about for a number of years, and is covered a little in my blog from 2018:

https://www.ailurophile.co.uk/?p=483

for anyone who feels the situation needs addressing, there’s a campaign (endorsed by Chris Packham) encouraging people to sign this petition:

https://wildheart.eaction.org.uk/servival?fbclid=IwAR0QTVfGZQHr3VhxyR2VWPeUh942OZ0H1DAxFaFe0cRUAXPol1d9slcSr3c

The wildcat part of a Bengal hybrid, the Asian Leopard Cat…
(Photo Source: The Bengal Connection)